Max Lord can control people’s perceptions. Max Lord can control people’s perceptions. Max Lord can control people’s perceptions. I figure if I say that enough it’ll help me realize that the final scene in “Justice League: Generation Lost” #19 isn’t necessarily final for the character it appears to be final for. I’m not going to spoil anything, but this is one issue that lives up to the cover. You know, that cover, right there, up a bit to the left of this review? Yeah. That one.

IF YOU DON’T WANT THIS SPOILED BEYOND THE COVER CLICK AWAY NOW.

So, um, apparently DC is at it again. Max gets a little uncomfortable as things start to close in on him so he pulls the trigger and offs Blue Beetle. Except this time there are witnesses and the Blue Beetle is a character that has garnered a lot of fan praise, media crossover, and significant merchandising.

So it makes sense that Max Lord is pulling a fast one on all of us, right? Yes, I’ve seen those advance solicits and it doesn’t look good to me either.

This issue does, however, give Jaime Reyes a fine bit of exposition, from his origins and inspiration to the link he shares with the scarab. Jaime gives back some of the hurt Max Lord has dished out, and for most of this issue, it is quite enjoyable. It’s a superheroic adventure to be sure, but the stakes are high and, well, DC loves some good, solid character deaths to stir the pot a bit, don’t they?

The art on this issue is dynamic and energetic, with wild energy bouncing all over the place, in a (mostly) good way. Dagnino has a good grasp of dramatic poses, expressions, and motion, but could certainly do with dialing the in between scenes down a little bit. Some of his scenes are overly posed, like Power Girl’s talking to the reader for a pair of pages, but that is something that comes with time and experience. His characters have a nice range emotionally and Dagnino packs a great deal of detail into these pages. I do have one major beef, though, that has been building to this point:

Dear everybody drawing Professor Anthony Ivo from now until the end of the character: he is not a scaly version of Max Lord, not is he the hideous lovechild of Yoda and Mr. Spock. Check out the Grant Morrison “JLA” run, specifically issue #5. Howard Porter pretty well nailed Ivo right there and it’s a quick, easy reference for everyone. Please, stop trying to reinvent this one. Just go with it.

With five issues left, this series that I had completely given up on has managed to lure me back with a blood red cover featuring one of the brightest spots of the DC Universe over the past half-decade in a most unflattering position. “Brightest Day” indeed.